At the north end of , in , formerly stood a water conduit, founded by Will. Eastfield, mayor:

For the mayor and commonalty of London being possessed of a conduit

head, with divers springs of water gathered thereinto, in the parish of Paddington, and the water conveyed from thence, by pipes of lead, towards London from Tyburn, where it had lain for the space of

six

years and more; the executors of sir William Eastfield obtained licence of the mayor and commonalty for them in the year

1453

, with the goods of sir William, to convey the said waters,

first

in pipes of lead, into a pipe begun to be laid beside the great conduit head at Marybone, which stretches from thence to a separal, late before made against the chapel of Rounseval, by Charing-cross, and no further; and then from thence to convey the said water into the city, and there to make receipt or receipts for the same, to the commonweal of the commonalty, viz. the poor to drink, the rich to dress their meat; which water was by them brought into

Fleet-street

, to a standard which they had made and finished,

1471

, near

Shoe-lane

.

The inhabitants of , in the year , obtained licence of the mayor, aldermen, and commonalty, to make (at their own charges) cisterns, the to be set at the standard, the other at Fleet-bridge, for the receipt of the waste water. This cistern at the standard they built, and on the same a fair tower of stone, garnished with images of St. Christopher on the top, and angels round about lower down, with sweet-sounding bells before them; whereupon, by an engine placed in the tower, they, divers hours of the day and night, with hammers, chimed such an hymn as was appointed.

This conduit, or standard, was again new built, with a large cistern, at the charges of the city, in the year .

Farther to the west are several streets, lanes, and alleys, erected on the site of the convent of the Carmelites, or White Friars, whose house and gardens extended from to the Thames.

In the year , the inhabitants of this district obtained a charter from king James I. to entitle them to several liberties, privileges, and exemption from the jurisdiction of the city of London, which rendered the place an asylum for insolvent debtors, cheats, and gamesters, who gave it the name of Alsatia. But the inconveniences produced by this place of refuge, and the riotous proceedings carried on there, at length induced the legislature to interpose their authority, and in the year , an act of parliament was passed to deprive the district of privileges so injurious to the community.

On the north side of Temple-bar, leading out of , is , so called because it divides the city from the shire, or county of Middlesex.

At the south-west corner of was, prior to , a curious old house of the reign of Edward VI. It was from the top of this house, that several cherubs flew down, and presented queen Elizabeth with a crown of laurels and gold, together with some verses, when she was going into the city upon a visit to sir

Thomas Gresham. This house, (engraved below)

A house nearly adjoining this building was the residence of Isaack Walton, the author of

the Art of Angling.

West from the entrance into the Temple, and at the extremity of the city liberties, is